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Dan, who joined Hastings after working for another care provider, was originally employed as a Night Care Assistant, however after a few months he joined the day team as a Care Assistant to help enrich the lives of residents throughout the day. Dan loved his job as his biggest joy working in the care home is the feeling of knowing residents are safe, engaged with stimulating activities and are looked after with the highest quality of care.

After a year in the role, with the experience he had gained from working in the home, his hard-work ethic and thanks to the Sanctuary Learning Academy – Sanctuary Group’s hub for learning, development and qualification, Dan’s manager suggested he should apply for the Senior Care Assistant full-time position that was available in the home. Unfortunately, following the interview process Dan was unsuccessful at this time but he was offered the position of relief Senior Care Assistant. Working his socks off and ensuring residents were at the heart of everything he did, 10 months later Dan was thrilled to be offered the position as a full-time Senior Care Assistant in 2017.

Since his progression and during the last two years at Hastings, Sue and his Deputy Manager Dan Reeves asked all the Senior Care Assistants in the home to participate in a learning programme, where every week each member of the team has to take time to get together to discuss training tips and best practice. For instance Dan shared how he personally trained his colleagues to use kradle, and in return he shared tips on how to manage staff following his progression to Senior Care Assistant. Dan explained, the regular meetings with staff and the on-going learning development helped inspire him to push himself to grow within Sanctuary Care, as he knew there was so much more he could give back to the company, and the wider group – Sanctuary Group.

In April this year, the kradle Specialist position became available and the role immediately attracted Dan due to his experience testing the care planning app and the support he and the rest of the team at Hastings received when the home went live with kradle. He knew he could add value to the team and having made use of the Sanctuary Learning Academy’s courses, gaining the most that he possibly can out of his own experience and one-to-one learning with his fellow peers made him the perfect candidate for the position. Dan was over the moon when he was successful.

Throughout the interview process, Dan had full support from the management team at Hastings ensuring he felt confident. They provided him with positive encouragement when he needed it, which he believes gave him the edge over his competition.

Dan said: “It is with a heavy heart that I am leaving Hastings. If it wasn’t for the home, the team or the residents I wouldn’t be where I am today. I joined the team with limited experience and I am now fully confident with a range of training courses under my belt. I have so many CV ticks which has and will continue to open many doors for me and I can’t wait to see what the future holds with the kradle team. I can’t believe that I will be helping to support Sanctuary Care to become fully sufficient with kradle – an app that I have personally grown to love with my own home using it!

“The team at Hastings is like one big family, we support and encourage one another. The management team, Sue and Dan want their staff to thrive and genuinely develop, even if that means leaving the home. I am so thankful for all the support, training and advice and I will never forget it! I hope staff at Sanctuary Care, including those outside of Hastings, know how lucky they are to be working for a great provider and to grab at all the opportunities that are available. There are opportunities to progress everywhere if you utilise the tools available – I have and I am so glad I did!”

What an inspiring story. We wish you all the luck in your new role and we will come back soon for an exciting update!